Top RB Lattimore rules out Georgia
By DARRYL MAXIE / dmaxie@ajc.com
Marcus Lattimore, rivals.com’s No. 2-rated running back prospect in the country, didn’t enjoy his visit to Athens and has excluded Georgia from his eight finalists.
“I have [whittled] it down to eight schools,” Lattimore told ugasports.com. “I do not have a leader and this is my official list — North Carolina, Alabama, South Carolina, Clemson, Penn State, Florida State, Maryland and Auburn.”
Lattimore, who had 30 touchdowns and 2,500 yards rushing for Byrnes High in Duncan, S.C., had considered Georgia one of his favorites until the visit changed his mind. He spent the past weekend at Auburn.
“When I went down there (Athens) I just didn’t feel comfortable and couldn’t see myself living there for four years,” he said.
The Dogs will redouble their efforts to land Mack Brown, the M.L. King running back who is thought by some to favor Florida ever so slightly. He is rivals.com’s No. 6-rated running back.
“They want me to come up and just hang out, and I think I am going to go either this week or next week, and chill with Caleb King and Reshad Jones,” Brown told ugasports.
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114 comments Add your comment
Maddog
June 1st, 2009
10:57 am
Hey, if he doesn’t feel comfortable in Athens then he definitely needs to go elsewhere. I appreciate his honesty and I wish him well.
Ben
June 1st, 2009
11:06 am
Yeah, Athen’s isn’t for everyone. Good luck to him and hopefully he finds success at another institution.
Ben
June 1st, 2009
11:06 am
…and I ment Athens.
knoxdawg
June 1st, 2009
11:11 am
I wish him well wherever he goes. Mr. Brown, your services are highly valued in Athens and I hope you enjoy your visit. We would love to see you in red and black.
KD
June 1st, 2009
11:24 am
I wonder if it was just a think that just didn’t click or is it something that also turns other recruits away from UGA.
Obama hates Cheney's bald head the most
June 1st, 2009
11:24 am
Good for him that he knows what he wants…and after his visit to that dunghole in Columbia, SC will be off his list too.
06 Dawg
June 1st, 2009
11:28 am
Good luck and best wishes!
Alabamadawg
June 1st, 2009
11:42 am
I suspect he was considering playing time or lack of it, so good luck to him unless it is at Bama or Florida…or Tenn.
gk
June 1st, 2009
11:48 am
Him and Seastrunk end up at AU in my opinion
Dogger
June 1st, 2009
12:01 pm
We didn’t want him anyway. He isn’t good enough tocarry a clip board.He would never have played. He saw the writing on the wall. He was only using us to gain leverage to play at a smaller school.He would have rode the bench for 4 years. Better that he part ways now than when we sign Mack Brown. Who cares that we lost a 3rd rate RB when we have 3 stud QB’s. Who cares about a rb when we have the receiving corp that we have. etc, etc, etc,
Pi$$onaDAWG
June 1st, 2009
12:07 pm
Suprise the dawg nation is not ripping the kid. What changed in your mindset about young people doing what is best for themselves and not your great uga?
The Ole Ball Coach
June 1st, 2009
12:08 pm
well
The Ole Ball Coach
June 1st, 2009
12:09 pm
sorry he didn’t feel the love…. Auburn bound they must have pulled out all the stops….. drink, food, and wimmen
EX Georgia fan
June 1st, 2009
12:17 pm
Athens “ain’t” what it used to be. In many areas it’s nastier than Tech’s campus. This boy might want to stick to the cow towns of Clemson or Auburn.
Joey Porter
June 1st, 2009
12:18 pm
he should have gone to the flats where indoor plumbing and foot models are second nature.
The Dawg
June 1st, 2009
12:32 pm
Dogger, if you think you are fooling anyone you are mistaken. You are probably a Techie, but you are no DAWG. You have no business on this blog. For “ex georgia fan” your statement is equal to your intellect. Athens was just rated the fifth best place and the seventh best place to live in the US for different reasons. Do us all a favor and stay and ex georgia fan.
I don’t know what Auburn is offering these kids, but it is not the same thing that others are. Draw you own conclusions.
UGA has a lot of running backs that perhaps scared Lattimore, but no one has stepped forward to take, really take, the job.
JB Wright
June 1st, 2009
12:32 pm
Auburn is an arm-pit. So is Tuscaloosa. Good riddance.
ThaMan
June 1st, 2009
12:38 pm
Chillin with Caleb and Reshad. What an educational experience for Mack Brown. He ought to fit right in after the requisite couple of years at Hargrave.
ThaMan
June 1st, 2009
12:40 pm
Dawgs SUCK!
Hugh Durham
June 1st, 2009
12:41 pm
Yet another “report” pulled directly from Rivals.com. Awesome job Maxie!
DawgsRule
June 1st, 2009
1:01 pm
That’s all the Dawgs need is another attitude case with a big ME on his shirt. Let him go to Auburn or Maryland—the dawgs will get Mack Brown away from Florida—bank on it! At UF, the running backs are wasted.
archangeladidas
June 1st, 2009
1:18 pm
The smartest move he could ever make in his life. Way to go young man. Now you don’t have to worry about the GATORS beating the hell out of you every year. Go GATORS!!!
Dorsey Hill
June 1st, 2009
1:19 pm
Clearly this means that he can’t qualify academically right? I mean, how do you not love Athens unless you are just rock stupid?
Kendawg
June 1st, 2009
1:25 pm
With Ealeyoming in this year, plus all the runners we already have on hand, Lattimore made a good decision for himself in excluding UGA from his eight finalists. Maybe we can land Mack Brown, but if we don’t, it won’t exactly be the end of the world. In my opinion, we’re already loaded at tailback. We need a really good rush end.
Sam
June 1st, 2009
1:26 pm
Sometimes it just does not click. Think about it: There are thousands of kids who sign elsewhere. For those of us who have gotten out and traveled, there are fine campuses out there. Chapel Hills is pretty darn nice. Best wishes. (just hope he does not sign with a UGA rival and beat us!).
Flo-Ri-Duh!
June 1st, 2009
1:29 pm
Lattimore let slip that he expects to be three years and on to the NFL …. he knows he won’t beat out Richard Samuel and would have to share playing time which doesn’t set well with his EGO.
TT44
June 1st, 2009
1:46 pm
Come on to A town Mr. Brown……. B-DAWG!
TUPAC EARNHART JR.
June 1st, 2009
1:47 pm
HEY LATTY, U SHOOD SINE WID DUKE!
DawgGone
June 1st, 2009
1:48 pm
Smart Kid, he realizes that UGA is not for serious students. Just another football factory.
ChefChuck
June 1st, 2009
2:15 pm
Flo-Ri-Duh!,”won’t beat out Richard Samuel”??? If that was true NOBODY would want him.
TechPride
June 1st, 2009
2:19 pm
It’s stories like this that make me sooooo happy to be a Taliban Techie:
Ex-Tech student offered help to terrorists, prosecutors say
Although Syed Haris Ahmed was “one step removed from a bomb thrower,” he conspired to support terrorism here and abroad, federal prosecutors alleged Monday.
Ahmed chose to have a bench trial so he could give a closing argument and deliver “the message of Islam.”
NOW THAT A YELLOW JACKET POINT OF PRIDE!
MiltonDawg
June 1st, 2009
2:22 pm
Here is a story from the Gainesville Sun. This is their starting CB for UF:
Gainesville Police arrested UF starting cornerback Janoris Jenkins over the weekend after they reported he was involved in a fight and an officer used a Taser on him. Jenkins, 20, was arrested on misdemeanor charges of affray and resisting arrest without violence, according to a report.
Baba O'Riley
June 1st, 2009
2:47 pm
UGA fan calling out another team’s player for a misdemeanor….priceless!!!
MiltonDawg
June 1st, 2009
2:49 pm
Babs, we get called out all the time, why not share other school’s issues with other fans?
Ben
June 1st, 2009
2:50 pm
Apparently they have some serous tazer problems in Gainesville.
OZZFEST
June 1st, 2009
2:51 pm
Regardless of his choice of school, what kind of bozo does not like Athens? That is one cool-ass town, especially compared to Auburn, Tuscaloosa or Clemson. Geez.
The Dude
June 1st, 2009
3:07 pm
There aren’t too many Georgia fans in Auburn, Clemson, or Tuscaloosa. Perhaps that had something to do with his decision.
Kenbud
June 1st, 2009
3:12 pm
take a visit to North Carolina …. you will love the campus and stadium. Also, a great place to make a name for yourself.
PMC
June 1st, 2009
3:16 pm
Lattimore is freaking awesome. He’s going to be absolutely fantastic where ever he goes. He is as good or better than anyone on campus at UGA right now but I wouldn’t be suprised if he went somewhere he felt he could start immediately.
uga_b
June 1st, 2009
3:17 pm
What amazes me is how similar most of those places are on the list. A few are a little bit smaller like Auburn and Clemson and even NC in some ways. The other southern schools share a lot in common with Athens. Maybe he is really looking to go up north.
Gator Growl
June 1st, 2009
3:32 pm
Well Ok… so NOW you dawgies want Mack Brown…now that this guy Lattimore is no longer apparently available. Well COME ON DOWN MR BROWN to Gainesville, where you are FIRST choice and have been since DAY ONE, right at the top of the big board! You are a great fit for the offense and will develop and thrive under Coach Meyer and Coach Carter! First class coaching, facilities, training, fan base, education, college experience and a REAL chance to wear a ring and hold the trophy. And if you work hard enough and develop and grow your skills, you’ll have all the opportunity you want to go to the next level. Look at it this way, do you want to be the guy whose #1 all the way or would you like to be the guy whose girl says ” you know, I really wanted to be with Marcus, but look at it this way, you were a close second!” Down here, you will be SECond to none!!!
Pago Flyer
June 1st, 2009
3:53 pm
Yea right, let’s all wish him the very best so he’ll come back and beat us!?
Jason
June 1st, 2009
3:57 pm
We are stacked in the running backs and tail backs positions anyway…does this kid really matter?
dogpoop!!
June 1st, 2009
3:59 pm
I bet he smelled the stench of athins from about 30 miles away and it I’m sure got stronger the closer he got. I just love it when big time athletes shun the cesspool of the south. It’s falling apart over there, little by little!!! HA-HA-HA!!!!!
oldmac
June 1st, 2009
4:10 pm
Uh oh, Dowgs had their chance for a year or two-back to mediocre you go.
JB
FYI-Dowgs is not mispelled-it is the new Yankee (as in “I’m from New York, I’m a big Dowgs fan” pronunciation. You hear that a lot in North Fulton. GO HOME
DR
June 1st, 2009
4:10 pm
I guess he did not want to be a first round draft pick.
Don't Tase Me Bro
June 1st, 2009
4:22 pm
I will like you to come to Gainesville and be eligible to be the 25th arrest in the last four years. And if you do screw up, don’t worry because all charge will be dropped and Corch Urban Meyers will not take no game time away for your bad behaviors. Go Gator.
This is Why Lattimore Isn't Going to UGA
June 1st, 2009
4:29 pm
This kid couldn’t see living in Athens for four years — but he can see living in Auburn or Clemson? Sorry folks but something doesn’t compute. A recruit choosing another program over UGA isn’t notable — kids have all sorts of things influencing their decisions — but it’s very rare for it to be Athens itself as the cause for a player to rule out the program.
If he were only listing schools in urban settings among his finalists, this might make sense. If he were only listing very tiny towns, perhaps that would make sense, too. But he’s got everything from Auburn, Alabama to Tuscaloosa to Chapel Hill to College Park, Maryland still in the running, so this is about something else. There are pros and cons to all of these places and tastes vary, but for life as a college student and athlete, Athens is pretty highly regarded. Certainly as much or more so than some of the other places he is considering.
So what’s really going on? There are a few possibilities about why the “rule out” and why it was so early in the process. One is that he may want the proverbial “start from day one” situation. This kid is highly rated and probably has that expectation in his mind. Well, no matter how good he is or thinks he is, he is not starting from day one at Georgia. Knowshon was just drafted in the 1st round and he redshirted. Georgia likes to redshirt runningbacks unless they can pick up blocking schemes and the overall offense very quickly. This kid can look at the depth chart and see that there is no UGA runningback beyond a sophomore. The starter this season is going to be Richard Samuels (sophomore), with Caleb King (sophomore) close behind. The guys behind them are Carlton Thomas (redshirt freshman) and Dontavious Jackson (redshirt freshman). And the highly touted Washaun Ealey (true freshman) has qualified and will be onboard. All of these players were highly touted coming out of high school and all are still very young. So if you are a highly rated high school tailback who will sign with a college in February, and you want to be “the man” as a college freshman, are you going to go to Georgia? I would think not — unless you are delusionally confidant that you would beat out all of the above guys who will already have 1-2 years in the program. My guess is that Lattimore will sign at one of the programs that has a junior or senior starting at tailback or an older group of runningbacks overall.
Another possibility is that he is looking at academic qualification issues, but if that’s the case, we’ll probably see UNC and Penn State fall off his list soon…they tend to be under the same internal requirements as UGA. Some of the other programs like Auburn, UT, or FSU that are…ahem…under less strict requirements…would be at an advantage. I don’t know anything about his academic situation, so this is just speculative.
Personally, my guess is that this has mostly to do with the depth chart situation.
Mutts-R-Stupid-especially-journalism-majors
June 1st, 2009
4:32 pm
Well, for a running back, Ga Tech is heaven. Give North Ave a chance, and you may very well be a very happy STAR.
Tom Davis
June 1st, 2009
4:34 pm
Don’t taser me bro.